In 2020 more than 96,000 drug-induced deaths were recorded in the U.S., about 29.2 such deaths per 100,000 population.  In the prior year, by comparison, the U.S. recorded just over 74,500 drug-induced deaths or about 22.7 such deaths per 100,000 population.  The year-over-year increase in U.S. drug-induced deaths reflects an ongoing negative trend that goes back at least two decades. Since 1999, the drug-induced death rate per 100,000 population in the U.S. has jumped more than 400%.  In 2020 the five-state Rocky Mountain region recorded nearly 2,765 drug-induced deaths, giving the region a collective drug-induced death rate of 22.0 such deaths per 100,000 population.  While the region's 2020 drug-induced death rate was 278% higher than it was in 1999, in 2020 every Rocky Mountain state recorded a drug-induced death rate that was below the national average.  A closer examination of data from the National Center for Health Statistics provides the following details about drug-induced death rates in the Rocky Mountain region.:

Drug-Induced Death Rates in the Rocky Mountain Region

State	Deaths	Population	Death Rate*
Colorado	1,536	5,807,719	26.4
Idaho	295	1,826,913	16.1
Montana	172	1,080,577	15.9
Utah	658	3,249,879	20.2
Wyoming	104	582,328	17.9
Region	2,765	12,547,416	22.0
U.S. Totals	96,096	329,484,123	29.2

(*) number of drug-induced deaths (intentional and unintentional) per 100,000 population

Report Period: 2020

Source: CDC Wonder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed on October 10, 2022